DJ Mixing Step by Step - DJing Tips
A DJ doing a blend

DJ Mixing Step by Step

So, you’re now a beatmatching pro, you know your DJ equipment inside out, and words like “phrase,” “breakdown” and “bar” are part of your daily vocabulary. Great! It’s time to move on and learn how to mix tracks. Today we’ll get a taste of what mixing is by making a simple transition from one record to another.

Before You Begin: Setting Your Sound Levels

It’s doesn’t happen too often that two tracks from two different records are of the same exact volume. (As if it weren’t enough for them to be recorded in different tempos, too!) One record may be insanely loud whereas another one, played on the same turntable, may be so soft you can barely hear it.

Your job as the DJ is to provide uniform volume level for all tracks played on the dancefloor. The rule of thumb is this: A channel’s level should be set so that in the loudest parts of the song, the channel meter touches on the red from time to time but never really stays there so no clipping occurs. If you don’t have channel meters on your mixer, you can monitor the sound level using the Cue Mix meter, or the Master Volume one (the channel’s fader has to be fully open then).

Setting a channel’s volume level is done with its Gain knob. The track’s Gain must be set properly beforehand, well before you start bringing the record in.

If your mixer has channel meters, this is a breeze. As you’re beatmatching with the new track playing in your headphones, adjust its Gain so that in the loud parts of the tune, its channel meter just touches on the red occasionally as described above.

If you have no channel meters in your mixer, you can cheat a little bit while you’re learning. Open the new track’s channel fader and close all others. Put the needle on a loud part of the track and set its Gain according to the mixer’s Master Volume meter. Over time, you can learn to set the incoming track’s Gain right during the transition, but don’t sweat it for now.

OK, the new track has been beatmatched and its sound level has been set. Time to start the transition!

When to Start the New Track?

It’s obvious that the new track needs to be started before the old one ends so there’s an overlap. You should have enough time to: a). Correct any starting errors in your headphones, b). Bring the new track in to the dance floor, c). Let both tracks play together and d). Gradually fade out the old track. Fortunately, DJs normally play “extended” versions of dance tracks that have long intros and outros, which are perfect for blends.

For the transition to be as smooth as possible, the two tracks’ 4-bar phrases (or, even better, 8-bar phrases) should be matched. In this scenario, the changes in the tracks’ musical flow will occur simultaneously, which sounds way more natural. Matching phrases is easy; simply make sure to start the new track on the very first beat of an old one’s phrase. (There’s more on phrase matching in this article.)

Now, suppose that we’re making a transition from Get Down (see the article on track structure) to another tune, whose structure happens to be exactly the same. Let’s call them track A and track B, respectively. The most straightforward way to mix these tracks is to start B on the beginning of A’s instrumental chorus and make the actual transition during the 16-bar section that follows it.

As a result, just when A hits the outro with its pure drum beat, track B will make its entry with its intro’s instrumental chorus. The chorus will be gradually ousting the remains of track A and will completely replace it by the end of these 16 bars (or two 8-bar phrases). Here’s how it will sound to a guest on the dancefloor:

Track A What the dancefloor hears Track B
11. …
12. Instrumental chorus – 16 bars		 … (A)
Instrumental chorus (A)		 1. Intro
13. Outro – 16 bars The blend: Outro (A) + Instrumental chorus (B) 2. Instrumental chorus – 16 bars
Verse (B)
… (B)		 3. Verse – 8 bars
4. …

Now let’s look into this whole process in more detail.

The Transition Step by Step

So, on the dancefloor, you have track A playing that’s approaching its ending. Put your headphones on both ears and move the mixer’s Cue Mix/Master fader to the middle. Now you can hear both the floor (channel A) and Cue Mix (channel B) in your headphones. Start track B on the first beat of A’s instrumental chorus. You have all the time in the world – 16 bars – to correct any starting mistakes and make sure the tracks’ beats are in sync.

Note: It’s OK to have one ear exposed to the dancefloor or monitors when beatmatching, but when starting track B for a transition, you need to have both tracks in your headphones. The reason is that if you start B to the sound that comes from the speakers, the pesky sound delay will make you align B’s beats with a delayed version of A. As a result, track B will be slightly behind the real A. This can become a very unpleasant surprise when it’s time to do the blend.

When A’s instrumental chorus comes close to its ending, take off your headphones: it’s time to start the show. On the first beat of the new 8-bar phrase, quickly move fader B about halfway up while using the other hand to notch A down just a little. Here’s a general rule of mixing: Sharp changes during a transition should be made only at the beginning of 8-bar phrases. (We’re trying to make the blend indistinguishable from the natural flow of music, and all major changes in tracks take place at new phrases.)

Now expand the conquered territory by moving fader B slowly up and fader A down. Don’t forget about maintaining a constant sound level in the dancefloor’s speakers by monitoring the mixer’s Master Volume meter. The A and B faders will meet at about 75%, although that depends on the mixer.

You haven’t forgotten that A’s 16-bar outro has two 8-bar phrases in it, right? This means that you can use the beginning of the second phrase to speed things up a little bit. At the right moment, forget about slow fader movements and give fader B a quick push while moving A down even further. Then, devote the rest of the phrase to slowly bringing in B to 100% while taking out A completely. At the new 16-bar phrase, you’ll only be hearing the new track in the speakers. The transition is complete!

Crossfader or Channel Upfaders?

A crossfader on a DJ mixerNot sure where I’ve gotten this from, but when I was learning to mix, I would use the crossfader instead of the upfaders to make transitions between channels. In this approach, both tracks’ channel faders are open and you use the crossfader to smoothly transition from one channel to another.

At first, the crossfader didn’t give me any trouble. However, as my skills grew, so did the need for finer control over the balance of channels during the blend, which the crossfader was not able to provide. Quote: “We must concede that some traditional mixing tasks are best accomplished with the two knob method.”

As a result, I began to use channel faders only for blends, and I suggest that you do the same. Moreover, I haven’t yet seen an established DJ who would use the crossfader for mixing (correct me if I’ve been looking at wrong DJs). Bottom line: leave the crossfader to those who invented it – the scratchers.

Keeping the Tracks Synchronized During the Blend

No matter how good you are at beatmatching, expecting that the two tracks’ beats will stay lined up forever is naive. Sooner or later they’ll start drifting away from each other. So how do you keep the tracks in sync during the blend?

Get a habit of putting your headphones on from time to time while in a transition. That will allow you to better hear how the records sound together and fix any problems early. If the tracks begin to drift apart, gently correct one of them.

Tip: In order hide your pitch bends from the dancefloor, always adjust the track where there are fewer high and mid frequency sounds at the moment (I’m talking about vocals or high melody notes here). Why? The thing is that when you give a record a push or slow it down to bring its beats in sync with the other tune, the sound’s pitch is changed, and this is most noticeable in high sounds. In our example, do your adjustments on track A because it only has drum beat (i.e. lows) in it by the time the transition begins. It’s better to leave B with its instrumental chorus and plenty of high notes alone.

That’s Not All…

I hope this article has helped you get a clear idea of what mixing is and how to make transitions between tracks. In the guides that follow, we’ll talk about using the EQ for finer mixing, as well as other ways to make your blends as smooth and professional sounding as possible.

About the Author JM

JM has played open-air gigs, shared the stage with the likes of ATB and had mix albums released commercially. He has been teaching DJing since 2008.

26 comments
Ng says March 15, 2013

Hi

Just wondering what levels you have the voulme faders at when using the eq’s? Do you have both at around 75% when swapping highs and bases or channel A lower than channel B etc, or do you adjust the mids to effect volume of outgoing track A?

    JM says March 21, 2013

    No, you don’t have to wait for both faders to be at around 75% to start EQing. I’m usually working the faders and the EQs simultaneously, i.e. I bring up fader A a little while taking B down a bit, the next moment I turn up A’s lows a notch while taking down B’s lows, and so on. As for the mids, I happen to use them rarely, it’s mostly just highs and lows for me.

Audiofanzine says September 20, 2013

If you’d like to know more about harmonic mixing check out our guide here: http://en.audiofanzine.com/getting-started/editorial/articles/harmonic-mixing-for-dummies.html

    JM says September 21, 2013

    Thanks, we also got a pretty comprehensive guide right on this site: Harmonic Mixing.

GRITTOMON THOMAS says January 23, 2014

well understood with this article, thanks a lot… 🙂

david says November 10, 2014

what is a instrumental chorus? do you just mean mix in track B after the break down and there’s a bass beat again? or do you mean mixing in track B when the outro starts?

Thanks

    JM says November 10, 2014

    Hey David, I mean start B on A’s last chorus and do the transition during A’s outro. The article on track structure should come in handy, too.

Everton says December 29, 2014

Great tips!
Thanks for the step by step of a mix, very well explained 😀

Nicolas says February 9, 2015

Have one big issue. This tutorial is the best one i’ve ever seen, but my biggest doubt is that if I really have to start the new track at the beginning of the old’s instrumental chorus and then bring it in at the beginning of the outro? Is it not possible to mix on different points of a track without sounding messy?

    JM says February 10, 2015

    It is possible, of course. It’s just easier to mix outros with intros when you’re just starting out.

Noriega says October 30, 2015

thanks for the tips…. will definitely come back for more

elizabeth says November 26, 2015

What about long intro of the song? what do we do to cut the intro? what do we press? i know we cue up a song but how do we do it on a standard pioneer desk? do we press play then stop on beat? …

john says October 19, 2016

i want to ask why do djs when they use the volume faders to mix they just increase the volume of track 2 until it meets the same volume as track 1 and then they push down track 1 volume fader at the end of the 32 beats.They do not meet the faders at 75percent.

    JM says January 7, 2017

    Well, you do have to watch the master sound level to avoid clipping, and that’s a very real possibility if both faders are at 100%.

djmixer says February 28, 2017

thanks for the tips….I’ve try out DJ software from http://www.djmixersoft.com , we will will definitely come back for more.

Ross says August 20, 2018

Ive been practising for a few months now and even recorded a few mixes but only now have i figured out what i was doing wrong. Thanks so much man! Ive been on the controller for about 3 hours non stop! Only question is, some tracks its hard to distinguish where the chorus ends and the instrumental begins… like techno tracks with no vocals. Is there any clues in the music that i should look for?

    JM says August 21, 2018

    You’re welcome, Ross! A track section typically takes 8, 16 or 32 bars, so you can always count the bars in your head if you’re unsure. Check out my article on track structure for more pointers: https://www.djingtips.com/how-to-dj/track-structure/

Farhana Shaik says November 26, 2018

JM, I would like to know the tips and tricks for beat-matching, some times it is so accurate and sometimes it will be very non syncing, I know we can adjust through jog wheel but I want to make it accurate by tapping play button, can you suggest me how?

    JM says November 26, 2018

    Hi Farhana, the trick is that your beatmatching doesn’t have to be 100% accurate. It just has to give you enough time between the corrections to go on with your mix. I explain a great deal more in my upcoming Beatmatching Power course, make sure to check it out: https://www.djingtips.com/beatmatching-power/

John E Brewster says March 25, 2019

I love it. I’m 63, used to DJ back in the 70’s and still have a bunch of 45’s and LP’s, so I’m thinking about getting back into it for some extra cash. I feel like now is a good time for vinyl playing Dj’s. It’s a great article. I have a lot of beatmatching practice ahead. Thanks for the tips!!

    JM says March 27, 2019

    You’re welcome, John, and good luck!

ziekien says June 28, 2019

I am very enjoy all moment with rule step by step . Thanks u

SMH says July 21, 2019

By far the most comprehensive easy to understand for anyone wanting to DJ & learn seamless transitions. The tips are very practical. Here’s what worked for me.. I beatmatched the incoming track on my headphones and then lower Hi & the Mids by about 2/3rd & keep my Low totally zero.. And gradually bring up the fader on the incoming track. Once the new track is almost ready to take over I bring the lows up. This has helped me immensely to my unnatural sounding transitions in a matter of couple days. I can post a link if you like to check where I have come up the curve.
Thanks a bunch JM when I was frustrated & ready to hang up my boots!

djfeetback.nl says November 22, 2019

Hi JM, It really very helpfull for unior DJ simple to application user , a have share with me many Thanks.

Macky says April 10, 2020

Hi, nice article but can’t see the whole table on mobile in awhen to start new track section

Comments are closed